Grinding wheel package and method of packaging them

ABSTRACT

A package for grinding wheels and method for assembly thereof in the form of an elongated square wheel supporting container for holding one or more axially aligned grinding wheels of substantially the same diameter therein and having square end covers within opposite ends of the container, and tensioned tied strands of strapping extending across the end covers and axially along the center of each side of the container opposite a line of contact between the inside walls of the container and the wheels. Disclosed also, is a method of packaging grinding wheels by stacking and centering them upon an end cover. A square container of sufficient length is slipped over the stack endwise and another end cover is placed over the exposed end of the stack of wheels to fit within the tube. Strapping is then stretched tightly across the outside of the end covers and along the center of each side of the container to force the wheels together and each side of the container into contact with the periphery of each of the wheels.

United States Patent [72] lnventor [21] Appl. No. [22] Filed [45]Patented [73] Assignee Franz F. Rechberger Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 1 1,386

Feb. 16, 1970 Dec. 28, 1971 Norton Company Worcester, Mass.

[54] GRINDING WHEEL PACKAGE AND METHOD OF 65 B, 65 R, 46 H, 62 R, 46 FR,56 AC, 46 BK References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/ 1 923Hemmerdinger 206/46 1/1934 Davis 206/65 X 8/1938 Golisano 206/46 FR X8/1961 Rue, Jr. 206/46 l-l Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair AssistantExaminerStephen P. Garbe Attorney-Walter Fred ABSTRACT: A package forgrinding wheels and method for assembly thereof in the form of anelongated square wheel Supporting container for holding one or moreaxially aligned grinding wheels of substantially the same diametertherein and having square end covers within opposite ends of thecontainer, and tensioned tied strands of strapping extending across theend covers and axially along the center of each side of the containeropposite a line of contact between the inside walls of the container andthe wheels. Disclosed also, is a method of packaging grinding wheels bystacking and centering them upon an end cover. A square container ofsufficient length is slipped over the Stack endwise and another endcover is placed over the exposed end of the stack of wheels to fitwithin the tube. Strapping is then Stretched tightly across the outsideof the end covers and along the center of each side of the container toforce the wheels together and each side of the container into contactwith the periphery of each of the wheels.

PATtNTinutcaaml 3630.349

INVENTOR FRANZ F- RECNBERGER AG NT GRINDING WHEEL PACKAGE AND METHOD OFPACKAGING THEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Theinvention relates to the packaging of grinding wheels for shipment incommerce.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, grinding wheels have beenpacked in individually fabricated cardboard or wooden boxes andprotected from damage in transit with sawdust or other waste material tofill the voids between the wheels and walls of the package. Also, it hasbeen the practice to ship a plurality of individually packaged wheels byassembling a plurality of packages in larger containers. Such methods ofpackaging are costly as they require double handling and repackagingprocedures, use of more materials, produce nonuniform and hard to handleshipping containers, require a larger inventory of various sizedmaterials for making containers, incur the nuisance of having to use anddispose of the sawdust or waste materials, and increase the shippingweight.

The applicants invention provides a reduction in labor and materialscosts; eliminates the use of sawdust or waste materials; providesmultivariable box lengths for enclosing any reasonable number ofgrinding wheels of approximately the same diameter; eliminatesrepackaging of already packaged wheels; facilitates easier in-plantpacking of grinding wheels and handling and stacking of relativelylighter weight packages for shipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Preferably a plurality of grinding wheels ofsubstantially the same diameter are packaged by stacking them in axialalignment with square end pieces for the container at the ends of thestack and protective deformable separators between them. A length ofpreformed square container material slightly longer then the axiallength or height of the stack, is cut from stock that is stored in theform of collapsed flat strips. The preformed collapsed strip is thenopened up to form a square elongated container element the sidewalls ofwhich have dimensions slightly longer than the stack of the wheels andwhen the container is expanded the internal width is slightly largerthan the diameter of the wheels so that it may be slipped over thestack. The flat square end covers of substantially the samecross-sectional area as the interior dimension of the elongatedcontainer fit within the opposite ends of the container at each end ofthe stack. Then the stack of wheels and separators, end covers, and thecontainer are tied tightly together with conventional strapping stock.The strapping is extended across the end covers and axially along themiddle of each exterior side of the container and is tensioned and fixedto maintain the walls of the container tightly engaged against tangentpoints on the wheels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of agrinding wheel package according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view partly broken away showing a flat strip ofcollapsed but preformed piece of stock from which is cut the containersuch as is shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a table and the components of apackage thereon; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the grinding wheel package.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings thereis shown a package which may contain several axially aligned grindingwheels 12 of substantially the same diameter. The grinding wheels 12 mayor may not have the conventional relatively thin wheel blotters l4 fixedon opposite sides thereof for mounting the wheels. Preferably, there areplaced between the wheels 12,

deformable separators 16 of substantially the same dimensions as thediameter, as the wheels. The separators 16 may be round or square. Insome instances the wheel blotters are left off and the wheels may be atype which has a great resistance to breakage and therefore theprotective separators 16 may be eliminated if desired.

A square container element 18, open at opposite ends, extends completelyaround the stack of wheels 12. Each end of the stack of wheels iscovered with a flat square end cover 20 having sides 20a of a lengthsubstantially equal to the wheel diameter which end covers fit withinthe container 18 and against the wheels. Separators l6 and end covers 20are made of conventional packaging materials such as, utility board oranother pressed fiber product, cardboard, corrugated board, or foamplastic. The square container has an internal crosssectional area atleast equal to that of the end covers 20 which covers may be madeslightly smaller for ease of inserting them within the container. Thefour internal or interior sidewall surfaces 18a of the container 18surround the sides 20a of the end covers and surfaces are in tangentialengagement with the peripheries of the wheels 12. The overall length ofthe stack of wheels and the end covers determines the length axially ofthe stock and hence the length of the container to be cut from theelongated collapsed flat strip of preformed stock S shown in FIG. 2. Thewidth of the container stock S is selected to match the diameter of thewheels to be enclosed therein and various container sizes are stockpiled in the collapsed flat state in a minimum amount of space. The cutlength forming container 18 may be constructed of any of theconventional packaging materials such as heavy cardboard, corrugatedpaper board, plastic and the like.

The provision of the completed deformable container stock material invarious sizes commensurate with the diameters of the wheels to bepackaged forms the essence of this invention. By providing the prefoldedshape S, that is made up of the four walls of the container 18, joinedtogether prior to the cutting of the container to length to fit thelength of the stack of wheels, a convenient number of sizes of stock Scan be stored in a minimum of space. When a particular size of containeris needed, the proper size folded stock is selected, i.e., one where thesidewall of the container is approximately the same size as thediameterof the wheels in the stack, and then a proper length ofcontainer material is cut from the flattened stock S. The deformedcutoff piece is then opened up and is easily slid longitudinally, orendwise over the stack of wheels to encompass the product to becontained.

After the container 18 has been placed around a stack of wheels thepackage 10 is tied together by two strands of conventional binding orstrapping 22. The strapping or binding 22 may be in the form of a roundor flat strand or tape formed of metal, fabric, or fiber reinforcedmaterials which provides the necessary strength and tension to hold thepackage together. It may be applied, tensioned, and tied by hand butpreferably is done with any of the well known commercially availableconventional strapping devices on the market suited to apply tension,and fixed the ends of the strap together.

The two strands of strapping 22 cross each other at approximately rightangles as they extend across the middle of the end covers 20 thestrapping 22, extending axially along the middle of each exterior sidesurface of the container 18 opposite the line of contact or tangencybetween the periphery of the wheels 12 and the interior side surface 18aof the container 18. Upon suitably tightening, tensioning and tying theends of the strapping 22 together the grinding wheels are engagedtightly together and are compressed against the separators disposedtherebetween. The middle portions of the end covers 20 and each of thesidewalls of the tube 18 engaged by the strapping 22 are also compressedand forced into engagement with the wheels. A package formed in thismanner and properly tied becomes a substantially rigid self supportingblock and maintains the wheels in a fixed relation one to another duringhandling.

The procedure or method for packaging one or more grinding wheels andproducing the package described above, can be varied: for example,wheels 12 may be stacked axially directly on a support or table T asshown in FIG. 3. The container 18 may then be slipped endwise over thestack of wheels and separators. Alternatively, an individual wheel, or astack of wheels may be inserted into an expanded container 18. The endcovers 20 can then be inserted into opposite ends of the container 18after the wheel as the package is being completed by application ofstraps 22.

It is to be understood that modification of the embodiments of theinvention disclosed hereinabove may be made within the scope of theappended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A grinding wheel package comprising: 7

a row of substantially axially aligned grinding wheels of substantiallythe same diameter having circular peripheral surfaces extending around acentral axis of rotation;

a substantially square container having an axial length slightly greaterthan the length of said row of wheels, said container having sidewallseach with an exterior and an interior surface which walls encompass andengage the peripheral surface of the grinding wheels along a line ofcontact substantially along the center line of the interior surface ofeach of the sidewalls;

a square end cover within each end of the container and engaging a sideof the grinding wheel at each end ofthe row;

tensioned and tied strands of strapping extending across one another,the end covers, and axially along substantially the center of theexterior surface of each of the sidewalls of the container opposite theline of contact between the container walls and the wheels;

whereby the grinding wheels and the end covers are packed tightlytogether and are prevented from moving relative to each other and thecontainer and are protected against damage during shipment in an easilyhandled and stacked package.

2. A grinding wheel package according to claim 1 further comprising: I

a protective deformable separator between each of the grinding wheels,in the row.

3. A grinding wheel package according to claim 2 wherein the square endcovers are flat and of slightly less cross-sectional area than theexposed end areas of the container.

4. A grinding wheel package according to claim 3 wherein the separatorsare of substantially the same diameter as the wheels in the row.

1. A grinding wheel package comprising: a row of substantially axiallyaligned grinding wheels of substantially the same diameter havingcircular peripheral surfaces extending around a central axis ofrotation; a substantially square container having an axial lengthslightly greater than the length of said row of wheels, said containerhaving sidewalls each with an exterior and an interior surface whichwalls encompass and engage the peripheral surface of the grinding wheelsalong a line of contact substantially along the center line of theinterior surface of each of the sidewalls; a square end cover withineach end of the container and engaging a side of the grinding wheel ateach end of the row; tensioned and tied strands of strapping extendingacross one another, the end covers, and axially along substantially thecenter of the exterior surface of each of the sidewalls of the containeropposite the line of contact between the container walls and the wheels;whereby the grinding wheels and the end covers are packed tightlytogether and are prevented from moving relative to each other and thecontainer and are protected against damage during shipment in an easilyhandled and stacked package.
 2. A grinding wheel package according toclaim 1 further comprising: a protective deformable separator betweeneach of the grinding wheels, in the row.
 3. A grinding wheel packageaccording to claim 2 wherein the square end covers are flat and ofslightly less cross-sectional area than the exposed end areas of thecontainer.
 4. A grinding wheel package according to claim 3 wherein theseparators are of substantially the same diameter as the wheels in therow.